Ken Borland

SA Rugby announced this week that this coming SuperRugby season will see the local franchises teaming up with the Marvel Comics Universe, with each of them being assigned a kit based on one of the famous superheroes from the recently-passed Stan Lee’s wonderful imagination.

Goodness knows our Super Rugby teams can certainly do with some superpowers, but unfortunately this arrangement will only be for the local derbies, so it won’t really help our chances of overcoming the dominance of the New Zealand teams or keeping ahead of the Australians.

The Bulls kit will have the blue colours of Captain America, the Lions will be based on Spider-Man’s red and black, the Sharks’ kit will be inspired by Black Panther and the Stormers will be wearing Thor’s colours. Ironically, rugby’s Thor – Duane Vermeulen – has moved from the Stormers to the Bulls, via Toulon.

This all got me thinking about what a Marvel 1^st XV rugby side would look like … This is a game I love to play and another variant of it often occurs during the hot midday hours in a game reserve and I choose a rugby team based on the animals in the park. You know, rhino and hippo in the front row with the honey badger at hooker, elephant and giraffe as the lock pairing. Cheetah and springbok are on the wings, lion and leopard in the loose trio, along with hyaena as the openside flank and monkey at scrumhalf. Buffalo would have quite the physical presence at inside centre, but does the elegant Sable Antelope play at flyhalf or fullback?

In our Marvel XV, Captain America, the archetypal blue-eyed boy, would be an obvious choice as skipper and flyhalf, much like our own Naas Botha. But there is another option for captain – Black Panther, being the king of Wakanda, is a great leader in his own right and his agility, immense strength and great intelligence make him the ideal eighthman.

The Beast, not Tendai the Tremendous but the blue-furred simian/feline hero of both the X-Men and the Avengers, is another agile and super-strong contender for the loose trio and would be my openside. Who better to play blindside flank than the real Iron Man?

In the second row, it is a case of putting together the classic pairing of the physically imposing number four with a more mobile, beanpole number five. Colossus of X-Men fame is not only 6’7 tall but can also transform his entire body into a type of organic steel. According to Marvel Comics, while in his armoured form, Colossus requires no food, water, or even oxygen to sustain himself, and is extremely resistant to injury. He is capable of withstanding great impacts, large calibre bullets, falling from tremendous heights, electricity, and certain magical attacks. In other words he’s pretty much like Bakkies Botha.

His lock partner would be the brilliant scientist and leader of the Fantastic Four, Reed Richards aka Mr Fantastic. He has the ability to stretch his body into any shape he chooses, so even the most wayward lineout throws would be in his grasp and his ability to steal ball at the rucks would be unsurpassed, which differentiates him from Victor Matfield.

A front row of his Fantastic Four colleague The Thing at tighthead and The Hulk at loosehead would be impossible to shift and would certainly boss the gainline, while Wolverine would bring a ferocity to the hooker position that has not been seen since the days of John Allan headbutting Sean Fitzpatrick in the first scrum of a Springboks/All Blacks Test.

For me, the sharp-witted Ant Man, with his ability to shrink through any gap or enlarge himself to block any hole, is the obvious choice for scrumhalf, while Quicksilver and the Falcon, whizzing about on his jet-powered wings, are the obvious heroes to play on the wings.

Thor, the god of thunder, would be a powerful force at inside centre that not many would get past, while Spiderman would be a nimble and superstrong outside centre, with his spider sense able to alert him of any threats to the defence.

Finally, I would like Daredevil at fullback, also imbued with super senses and tremendous agility, even though most modern coaches now seem to prefer a more conservative selection in the number 15 jersey.

I’m sure the late great Stan Lee will forgive me my misappropriation of his creations for a rugby team, but daydreams are what he sold and I have a feeling he would approve. I’m pretty sure the idea of putting them on rugby jerseys never crossed his mind though.

https://www.pressreader.com/south-africa/the-citizen-kzn/20181208/282329681019157

A wonderful Leopard sighting near Kubu Dam

Being in the bush and birding is always such a special time for me, real soul-food, and a time of replenishment before heading back into the hectic ‘real’ world. So I have a small obsession about what my last sighting is, always wanting to end on a high note, preferably with something exotic, something I don’t see every day in my garden.

It is also a source of motivation to stay sharp and keen-eyed at the end of what are normally long, hot days in the bushveld.

Pilanesberg National Park may be one of the most popular reserves in the country and is attached to a tourist hot-spot in Sun City, but it is Big Five country and genuine bushveld. It has a ruggedness about it with its hills lying at angles (after the massive volcanic eruptions that shaped the landscape), its rocky outcrops and the densely-wooded gorges where few people would have ventured.

It is normally also blisteringly hot in summer but this October day had been pleasant: a beautiful sunny day with barely a cloud in the sky and a lovely cooling breeze. The temperature did not get above 31 degrees.

I had concentrated my efforts on the southern half of the park, doing a half-circle from KwaMaritane to Bakubung, and I was 10 minutes from the exit gate when sighting number 53 appeared – a pair of Common Mynahs flying along!

These aliens are all over our towns, cities and neighbourhoods and are considered a scourge in our wild places, like game reserves. So you can imagine my dismay at the very real possibility now that this invasive would be my last sighting of the day … Oh, the horror!

But this was a happy day (it had included a Leopard sighting next to the road) and Mother Nature was kind to me.

Just when I thought the Mynahs would be my last bird, a magnificent pair of Violeteared Waxbills popped up in the bush next to me on the side of the road!

Now these waxbills are really exotic-looking with their incredible combination of violet, red, bright blue and chestnut colours. It is one of my favourites, not only because it is exquisite but also because it eluded me for many years before my first sighting. I even had to put up with my birding colleague Stidy seeing it as a passenger in my car while I dipped on it!

It would have been a dream last bird, but Mother Nature had another trick up her sleeve for me. At Bakubung Gate, amongst the buildings – which I guess make fairly authentic copies of the boulders found on the koppies that are normally their home -were a pair of Mocking Chat.

I had no problem with these cute, somewhat mischievous birds being my last sighting. They are real characters and I watched them a bit before finally departing the peaceful, but wild, hills and valleys of the Pilanesberg.

I was still buzzing though from my Leopard sighting, which had been in the vicinity of Kubu Dam, just before I turned west off the tar and on to the Kgama Drive that goes past Lengau Dam and then rejoins the tar just before the Bakubung Gate.

The Leopard was lying with typical insouciance under a shady bush, about 20 metres from the road, but quite hard to see due to the combination of dappled light and the rosettes on its body. What a gorgeous young specimen it was though.

The insouciant Leopard

While the Leopard was, typically, a loner, there were lovely family sightings of 10 African Elephant marching along the flanks of the Magare Hills, away in the distance as the Tsepe Drive turned to the north-west, having skirted along the south-eastern border of the park for nearly 10km from the KwaMaritane entrance.

It was also most pleasing to see three different family groups of Squarelipped Rhinoceros, numbering 10 in all of these critically endangered animals.

The group theme had started at the beginning as I entered KwaMaritane gate and was immediately bombarded by three Blackchested Prinia dashing around and calling loudly in some sort of furore.

Two Greater Kudu youngsters down by the Maritane River were much more peaceful, and some Little Swift were also swirling around merrily, without a care in the world.

Blackcollared Barbets are normally seen amongst the trees at the picnic sites, so it was nice to see one at the hills and plains of the Tshepe Drive. Further down the road, a Kalahari Robin was conspicuous as it posed on top of a bush, behaving more like a Chat. Which is not surprising because the Scrub Robins (Genus Cercotrichas) are in the same Subfamily – Saxicolinae – as things like the Familiar and Mocking Chats, both characteristic birds of the Pilanesberg.

Close by, a juvenile Blackshouldered Kite was also posing nicely on top of a tree,

Juvenile Blackshouldered Kite

while both Redfaced and Speckled Mousebirds were in close proximity to each other as the Tshepe Drive crossed the Mankwe River, where, as is often the case, a purposeful Cape Wagtail was doing a thorough inspection.

The Lengau Dam was hosting a big flock of Sacred Ibis, and there were also Redbilled Teal, which I have only seen infrequently in the Pilanesberg.

Where is Pilanesberg National Park?

Sightings list

Blackchested Prinia

Greater Kudu

Little Swift

Blue Waxbill

Blackcollared Barbet

Neddicky

Kalahari Robin

African Elephant

Sabota Lark

Blackshouldered Kite

Rattling Cisticola

Grey Lourie

Redfaced Mousebird

Speckled Mousebird

Cape Wagtail

Cinnamonbreasted Rock Bunting

Glossy Starling

Southern Yellowbilled Hornbill

Southern Yellowbilled Hornbill

Blackeyed Bulbul

Impala

Marico Flycatcher

Blue Wildebeest

Helmeted Guineafowl

Giraffe

Redbilled Oxpecker

Natal Francolin

Capped Wheatear

Springbok

Pied Crow

Squarelipped Rhinoceros

Lesser Striped Swallow

Common Waxbill

Longtailed Shrike

Longtailed Shrike

Arrowmarked Babbler

Whitebreasted Cormorant

Reed Cormorant

Southern Masked Weaver

Blackbacked Puffback

Laughing Dove

Great White Egret

Browncrowned Tchagra

Warthog

A Warthog strolling along

Leopard

Familiar Chat

Plains Zebra

Waterbuck

Blacksmith Plover

Redbilled Teal

Dabchick

Sacred Ibis

Egyptian Goose

African Darter

Common Mynah

Violeteared Waxbill

Mocking Chat

Kwagga Smith has unparalleled strength for a man of just 80kg who is 1.80 metres tall, and his tremendous exertions led a muscular display from the Lions pack as they sealed an exciting 29-28 win in the final quarter of their SuperRugby match against the Waratahs at Ellis Park on Saturday.

Smith made a couple of crucial turnovers in the second half, including the one that led to the Lions claiming the lead for the first time in the match, and he punched weigh above his weight in the collisions. Probably the moment that will be most remembered, however, came when replacement centre Adam Ashley-Cooper engulfed his upper body in a tackle but Smith lifted his 98kg opponent off his feet with seemingly just the power of his neck muscles! (see video here)

In this year of superhero-themed SuperRugby, it was an earth-shattering moment and the Waratahs must have been shaken. Shortly thereafter they conceded the penalty, kicked from in front of the poles by replacement flyhalf Shaun Reynolds, that snatched the victory for the Lions.

Having a player like Kwagga Smith performing heroics alongside you can only be inspirational and front-rankers Johannes Jonker, Dylan Smith and Malcolm Marx, and replacement flank Marnus Schoeman all stepped up in that final quarter and flexed their not inconsiderable muscle as well. Some massive scrums and sheer physicality in the collisions won the day.

The Waratahs will certainly be of the view that they gave away a much-needed victory, having led 28-26 with 12 minutes remaining. But to be fair, all three of the visitors’ tries in the first half were rather gifted to them by poor exits by the Lions, who kept putting in silly little chip-kicks from their own 22 and were duly punished.

The first try came as early as the fourth-minute, with Lions coach Swys de Bruin admitting afterwards he had been worried by the start his team made after a torrid tour and a bye week. The vision of fullback Kurtley Beale allowed him to launch a counter-attack into Lions’ territory, but the home side managed to steal the Waratahs’ lineout throw.

Only to give the ball straight back as wing Alex Newsome claimed the chip, Beale and centre Karmichael Hunt put in good runs, before flyhalf Bernard Foley found scrumhalf Nick Phipps dashing up to score the try.

The response of the Lions, seven minutes later, was a repeat of the astounding intercept try scored against the Waratahs by Bulls eighthman Duane Vermeulen last weekend. Hooker Marx intercepted Phipps’s pass off a lineout around halfway and did enough to force a penalty. The Lions kicked to touch, set the maul and then rumbled forward through a couple of pick-and-goes, before flyhalf Elton Jantjies found Aphiwe Dyantyi racing through on an inside-ball, the wing stretching over to score.

Marx may not quite have had the pace to complete the try, but his more obvious strengths came to the fore in the crucial final stages, when he was a dominating figure.

The charity of the Lions continued from the restart though, the ding-dong battle repeating as another silly chip-kick out of their 22 was snapped up by the Waratahs. The Lions defence was then all over the place as flank Michael Hooper weaved his way through for their second try.

The Lions’ response took five minutes this time as the prominent figure of lock Stephan Lewies went over from close range after the rolling maul had been well-defended, levelling the scores at 14-14 after the first quarter.

The to-and-fro pattern of scoring continued as another poor exit by Jantjies led to Rob Simmons, the Waratahs lock, bursting through the yawning gap in the defensive line and scoring.

But the Lions had the final say of the first half as the outstanding inside centre Harold Vorster shaped to pass but then went on a fabulous, arcing run, beating two pairs of tacklers and then putting the grubber through. That man Kwagga Smith showed his pace to get on the end of it and dot down, leaving the Lions two points adrift (19-21) at the break.

The Lions began the second half in spectacular fashion with a try that should make the global highlights of rugby played this weekend, Swys de Bruin later describing it as “one of outstanding beauty that lifted our spirits”.

It started with the Smith turnover in his own 22 and another great run by Vorster started the counter-attack. Eighthman Warren Whiteley then linked up with Lewies, who got the offload away to Marx (although there was a hint of it going forward), and the hooker freed wing Courtnall Skosan to go speeding over for the try and the lead for the first time.

The Waratahs regained the lead in the 57th minute, a flamboyant long pass from Hunt to Rona sending the wing flying down the line. He was stopped just short of the line, but replacement prop Tom Robertson cashed in on quickly recycled ball and crashed over for the try, Foley converting for a 28-26 lead.

To the Waratahs’ credit, they did not suddenly become all economical in their approach, and they kept probing as they rapidly moved the ball through the hands.

But this was a game ultimately won by muscle, with the Lions’ forwards gaining the momentum, this led to penalties that allowed the home side to dictate territory.

With this win, the Lions have climbed into the playoff places in eighth spot, but they are just three points off the conference-leading Sharks and fifth place overall.